Tibetan / Vajrayana

Vajrayana Buddhism is most closely associated with Tibet and can be characterized by the figure of the siddha, the master whose spiritual realization is so profound that he or she has power over the phenomenal world, and in whom the profundity and vastness of absolute truth is fully and completely manifested. Many of our most well-known authors come from this tradition of Tibetan Buddhism .

[Note: The tags for the various schools are not definitive as many books span multiple traditions, etc. They are meant to use as a starting point for exploring this collection.]

A New Translation

Milarepa (1040–1123) is perhaps the best-known and most beloved religious figure in Tibetan Buddhism, celebrated throughout the Tibetan Buddhist world with the recitation of his teaching songs by monastics and laypeople alike. The archetype of the ordinary being who overcomes… Read More

Text and Commentaries on the Rigdzin Düpa

The Rigdzin Düpa, of Gathering of Vidyadharas, is one of the most important practice texts in the Nyingma, or ancient, school of Tibetan Buddhism and is practiced by many tens of thousands of practioners around the world. This book includes… Read More

A User’s Guide to Tibetan Buddhist Art and Practice

The sacred arts play an essential, intrinsic role in Tibetan Buddhist practice. Here, one of the great practitioners and master artists of our time presents a guide to the Tibetan Buddhist path, from preliminary practices through enlightenment, from the artist's… Read More

British Feminist, Indian Nationalist, Buddhist Nun

She was the first Western woman to become a Tibetan Buddhist nun—but that pioneering ordination was really just one in a life full of revolutionary acts. Freda Bedi (1911–1977) broke the rules of gender, race, and religion—in many cases before… Read More

Lessons from the Life and Songs of Tibet’s Great Yogi

He went from being the worst kind of malevolent sorcerer to a devoted and ascetic Buddhist practitioner to a completely enlightened being all in a single lifetime. The story of Milarepa (1040–1123) is a tale of such extreme and powerful… Read More

Arriving at the View of Nonduality

According to tradition, Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes (Madhyāntavibhāga) was revealed by Maitreya to Asaṅga, and the radical view it presents forever changed the way Mahayana Buddhists perceive reality. Here, the Tibetan master Rongtön unpacks this manual and its… Read More

Tantra in Tibet (Revised Edition)

Tantra in Tibet is the first volume in The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra series in which the Dalai Lama offers illuminating commentary on Tsongkhapa’s seminal text on Buddhist tantra. It is followed by Volume II:Deity Yoga and Volume… Read More

Buddhist Advice for the Heartbroken

Buddhism has a lot to say about suffering—and there are likely few times we suffer more intensely than when we break up with a romantic partner. It feels like you may never recover sometimes. But Lodro Rinzler has wonderfully good… Read More

Complete Instructions on the Preliminary Practices

The foundations of Vajrayana practice are laid out with eloquence and precision here by one of the greatest Tibetan Buddhist masters of our age. His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche’s commentary on the preliminary practices (ngöndro) is informed by his profound realization… Read More

Devotion to one’s teacher is the lifeblood of the Vajrayana path. Because the guru can and will use whatever means it takes to wake us up, this relationship may require us to drop our most deeply held beliefs and expectations.… Read More

How to Create the Causes of Happiness and Avoid the Causes of Suffering

Why do things happen the way they do in our lives? How do we create the causes for a happy life? The Buddhist practice of mind training gives us the answer to these questions: it involves overcoming our self-centered attitude… Read More

Oral Instructions on the Three Words That Strike the Vital Point

The path of trekchö is the way of directly and thoroughly cutting through the misconceptions of samsara to lay bare the primordial purity of the nature of mind. This powerful practice is illuminated by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche in his commentary… Read More

Development and Completion Stages in Vajrayana Practice

A complex topic is here made crystal clear through the heartfelt teaching of one of the great Tibetan Buddhist masters of the twentieth century. With Pure Appearance Dilgo Khyenste Rinpoche offers an overview of Tibetan tantric practice that explains its… Read More

The Dzogchen Teachings of Bönpo Treasure-Revealer Shense Lhaje

Visionary Encounters presents four chapters from the collection known as The Golden Teaching of Trenpa Namkha, a cycle of Dzogchen teachings recovered or rediscovered by the thirteenth-century master Shense Lhaje, an important scripture-revealer in the Bön tradition. These chapters include… Read More

A Practical Guide to Unconditional Happiness

The true nature of our mind is brilliant, clear, and joyful. But we don’t experience this reality amid the swirl of stresses, thoughts, and emotions of day-to-day life. Our Pristine Mind is a practical guide to uncovering our naturally comfortable… Read More